Posts Tagged ‘skin cancer’

A documentary aimed at young people called ‘Revealed’ on BBC Two at the weekend highlighted the dangers of sunbeds on young skin.

GPs say they are witnessing record levels of some of the most dangerous forms of skin cancer in young people.

Whether it is a sunbed you are using, or simply sunbathing in the natural sun light, too much UV radiation exposure can result in some nasty melanomas.

‘Revealed… Loving the Tan’ featured a case study called Amy, 24 from Sheffield, who developed skin cancer on her arm, and it was only by a chance mention to a GP about a suspicious mole that triggered her diagnosis.

SkinGenesis cannot stress enough the importance of being sensible in the sun. All summer we have been running our ‘Safety in the Sun’ campaign, providing advice on how to have fun in the sun, while protecting yourself from the dangers.

Our sun protection advice would be to simply not use sunbeds. Natural exposure to the sun is fine, as long as it is not abused and adequate sun protection precautions are taken, such as wearing sun cream, wearing a hat and avoiding the sun at peak times.

SkinGenesis recognises the benefits of sun exposure and is encouraging families to get active and have fun in the warmer weather, whilst still raising awareness of the dangers from the sun’s harmful rays.

Peter Beard, skin expert at SkinGenesis, said: “We’re all bored of the same sun protection advice, which would often have you believe that all sun exposure is harmful to your health. This isn’t strictly true; in fact sunlight makes us feel good and is vital to help the body produce vitamin D, which is why we’re encouraging people to make the most of the sun, but to do so sensibly.”

The SkinGenesis girls were on hand at Mollington Village Sports Day on Saturday 17th July from 12pm – 5pm to educate participants and their families on how to take good care of their skin this summer, understand the risks and how to protect themselves naturally against harmful UVA and UVB radiation.

Attendees received a free UV Guardian wristband and personalised information on how to stay safe in the sun. They were also invited to head down to its clinic at Mollington Grange on Parkgate Road to book a free expert skin analysis.

Peter added: “Skin cancer can be deadly and is one of the most common diseases we face today. Being sensible and taking good care of the skin during the summer season can protect the skin from developing malignant melanoma.

“When you’re having fun, you often don’t realise how much sun you’ve had until it’s too late and you burn. There are various ways to protect yourself naturally, such as eating processed tomatoes and drinking coffee, in addition to the usual advice of wearing a high factor sunscreen, seeking shade at peak times and keeping hydrated to avoid sun related illness.

“Some sun protection creams do not protect against both types of radiation, so it’s important to check the labels to ensure you’re fully protected.”

• Antioxidants are essential: Intensely coloured berries and red grapes are a good source of antioxidants.

SkinGenesis has clinics in Leeds, Manchester and Chester and provides sun protection advice during all its consultations. UV imaging technology is provided during a free expert skin analysis to highlight areas of the skin that have already suffered damage from the sun’s radiation.

For more sun protection advice or general information on SkinGenesis visit http://www.skingenesis.co.uk or call the Chester clinic on 01244 853802.

As SkinGenesis launches its Safety in the Sun campaign for what is set to be a scorching sporting summer, new stats from Cancer Research UK suggest that more men than ever are dying from the deadliest form of skin cancer.

SkinGenesis offers a free expert skin analysis to everyone, which can show you the level of skin damage you’ve already experienced – it’s really interesting and can be quite surprising at what the naked eye doesn’t see (see images below!).

What the eye sees...

...the sun damage the eye doesn't see!

This summer we will be encouraging people to take more care in the sun and protect themselves with a minimum SPF 30 and suitable clothing.

With the World Cup starting this weekend, more men will forget or overlook the need to be sensible in the sun. By avoiding sunburn and seeking shade at peak times throughout the day, people can dramatically reduce their risk to developing skin cancer later in life.

From 14th June 2010, visitors to our clinics in Leeds, Manchester and Chester will be able to pop in without an appointment for free personalised sun protection advice and for a limited period, a free UV Guardian Wristband, which indicates when you’ve spent enough time in the sun.

Different skin-types have varying tolerances to the sun, meaning that some people burn more quickly than others under the sun’s harmful UV rays.

With summer just around the corner and after a long cold winter, sunbed use and fake tanning is on the rise again, but earlier this year Girls Aloud star Nicola Roberts tried to turn tan-fans’ attention to the dangers of sun exposure.

Skin cancer, long term deep wrinkles and general skin damage are all that you are risking when you hit the rays for that short burst of the feel-good factor. But whilst you may receive the odd compliment about ‘how well you look’, people might be saying the complete opposite in five to ten years time.

The link below is a real eye-opener, which shows two case studies – one a man in his twenties who uses sunbeds five to six times per week (yes, per week!), as well as using a range of fake-tanning products to give himself a top up. The other is a girl who has anexpert skin analysis under a UV lamp, which shows the dramatic damage that has been done to her face after years of sun exposure. Let’s just say, she is quite shocked.

English Rose Nicola talks about the pressures she faced in the popular girl band to look the same as the other members and admits that she went through a stint of constant tanning.

The expert in the clip also makes the important point that as the skin becomes damaged, it swells slightly, which temporarily plumps up the skin the smooth out any fine lines and wrinkles. Of course this is very short-lived and not worth the long term pain of having deep-set wrinkles later in life.

Everyone likes to have a little glow, and limited sun exposure is important for the body to produce vitamin D, which helps with the absorption of calcium for strong healthy bones and to avoid osteoporosis. It’s all about achieving a balance and being sensible in the sun – wear a sun protection factor of 30, seek shade between 11am and 3pm and do not use sun beds. And if you really want a tan – play it safe and fake it!

A YouGov survey has revealed that over 50% of respondents reported being confused by media reports on the latest cancer scares and things you should avoid consuming to decrease your chance of getting the disease.

In the last few years, I can recall hearing half a dozen cancers off the top of my head – spray deodorants, bacon sandwiches, red meat, Walkers Worcester Sauce flavour crisps, mobile phones, mouthwash… I could go on.

If you took any notice of all these stories that seem to hit the front pages of the papers as *Breaking News*, you would be a nervous wreck and never eat or use anything that’s for sale in the supermarkets.

The BBC website placed an article on this topic recently and featured a spokesperson from World Cancer Research Fund who quite cleverly likened each scientific study that presents these findings to ‘little pieces of evidence’ in a ‘police investigation’.

To avoid mass hysteria on the part of the confused British public, he advised that scientists should be trained to present and articulate their findings in a more concise way, and the media should start to print small disclaimers about the limitations of the study.

One thing that we can confirm is that the sun’s rays definitely pose a risk to the skin. If you have sunbathed unprotected or used sunbeds when you were younger, chances are you’ll have some level of skin damage, particularly on your face.

Many skin clinics offer a free skin analysis to assess the degree of sun damage caused and can advise on the next steps to take to rectify it. We call ours an expert skin analysis which looks at sun damage, moisture content and pH. Very useful stuff to know and well worth it because it’s free!

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has just announced that sunbeds are ‘definitively carcinogenic to humans’… in layman’s terms, sunbeds can cause cancer. This has advanced from ‘probably being carcinogenic’, so the warning should not be ignored.

Our advice: Don’t use them! Be safe and use fake tan, or go against the norm and be an English rose!

It’s that time of year when all the lifestyle programmes and magazines start telling you what to do and what not to do in the sun, making the topic of sun protectiona bit of a minefield.

Our very own Peter Beard featured on BBC Radio Leeds’ breakfast showyesterday, giving advice to all the listeners on staying safe in the sun. (Listen at the link above at 1hr 50 mins approx.)

Now SkinGenesis has come up with a really simple Sun Protection Guideto give everyone the low down on sunscreens, UV rays – both A and B – nutrition and even what to wear!

The Guide can tell you approximately how many minutes you can remain in the sun for before burning. It even explains why your diet is extremely important in the summer months, for example, did you know that topping up your folic acid or eating more tomato ketchup can stop you from burning…

Taking a little extra caution in the sun, could save you from a lifetime of skin problems and complications. The Guide provides all the information you need to stay safe this season, so that you can concentrate on having fun!

We’re all probably aware of the predicted ‘heatwave’ that’s meant to be hitting the UK, although judging by the dull days up here in the North, we don’t have too much to worry about just yet!

As a precaution however, it is important to make sure that you avoid ill health or skin damage by being just a little more vigilent than usual during the hotter, sunnier weeks.

It’s also important to take care of your skin when the sun is blazing, no matter how tempting it is to top up your tan! Remember, a sunscreen only protects you from UV rays and doesn’t block them completely, which means you can still tan safely by wearing a high factor sunscreen. This way you can avoid premature agingand protect against skin cancer.

It is predicted by the NHS and the Met Office that many will fall ill with sunstroke this summer, particularly the elderly, children and other ‘higher risk’ groups. Make sure that you check on your elderly relatives and friends and follow the points below to ensure that you stay safe this summer:

Keep your house cool by opening windows and buying a couple of fans

Keep a jug of water in the fridge so that you don’t become dehydrated

Wear a high factor sunscreen if exposed to the UV rays

Cool showers will soothe the skin and take the edge off a muggy, humid atmosphere

Wear a hat outside to shade the delicate skin on your face – you can still catch the rays under a fashionable wide-brim sunhat!

We invited the cameras into our SkinGenesis Manchester clinic to give a demonstration of the Expert Skin Analysison two volunteers, which is a highly effective method of detecting earlysigns of skin cancer and skin damage, measuring moisture content and pH and putting a stop to premature ageing.

If you’re worried about skin damage and are wondering what you can do to start to restore its goodness and elasticity, the first step is to see a skin specialist who can analyse your skin and devise a new regime to rectify any damage that’s been done.

Leave us a comment below and we’ll advise you on the next steps to achieving a flawless complexion.

It was announced today that homeless people across Edinburgh will be given free high factor sunscreens this summer to protect their skin against sun damage and skin cancer, by charity Sunwise.

It is important for everyone to protect their skin and we feel that because homeless people spend so much time outdoors, it is extremely important for them to seek shade and cover up in what has so far been quite a hot summer already.

Skin cancer is on the up according to recent figures, so it makes sense to hand out free suncream to those who can’t afford it themselves. Ideally it would be great if this could be rolled out amongst all the major UK cities and even other groups of people in addition to the homeless – whether it will or not is another question.

As leading skincare experts, we would advise everyone to wear at least a factor 20 sun lotion and to make sure it protects against both UVA and UVB rays. There are many varieties available in the chemists and you don’t always have to go for the ‘best brand’ or most expensive. Check out reviews, as there are usually many at this time of year.

In addition to cancer, the sun can wreak havoc on the skin by causing free radicals, which are the little menacing little things that cause wrinkles, fine lines and crows feet – meaning you will have to spend oodles of money on anti-ageing treatments. Pigmented skin, sun spotsand the need for freckle removal can also be caused by too much sun, which can too be treated by specialist skin treatments.